On a day when Amarinder Singh Raja Warring formally took over as the youngest-ever Punjab Congress chief, spelling out his ‘3D mantra’ of discipline, dedication and dialogue, his predecessor Navjot Singh Sidhu called for ‘reinventing’ the Congress party to come back to power.
Raja Warring, along with working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, took the oath and assumed charge in the presence of senior party leaders, MPs, MLAs and hundreds of workers.
Despite the party high command claiming that all leaders were on board post the state assembly poll debacle, differences were starkly visible at the event.
Sidhu did turn up at the PCC office but skipped the installation event. He did not share the stage with Warring, preferred to sit in a room at the headquarters and left after briefly meeting his successor. Also missing was former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar who was recently issued a show-cause notice for his Dalit comment.
After staying barely for half an hour, Sidhu interacted with the media, taking what many felt was a swipe at his detractors within the party. ”The Congress will have to reinvent to come back to power… Honest faces with moral authority and integrity will be the propellers. We are fighting a battle of existence for this great state… It’s either the Mafia or Honest people,” he tweeted later.
Warring, on his part, emphasized the need for discipline in the party, saying it was of paramount importance as no organisation, whether political or business, can survive without discipline.
He urged party colleagues to work with dedication while assuring that he will take along everyone on his mission. He said he will ensure dialogue and discussion within the party so that everyone is heard.
Emphasizing the need for dialogue, he said, one can’t be self-righteous and has to take everyone along in teamwork.
Party sources said that despite attempts by state in-charge Harish Chaudhary, the party had not been able to sort out differences, with leaders seemingly working at cross purposes.
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